Oakland Raiders: Some RB prospects to think about for the 2019 season
By Kevin Saito
Rodney Anderson – Oklahoma Sooners
Anderson’s career at Oklahoma got off to a bit of a rough start, as a broken leg ended his freshman year after just two games that amounted to one carry for just five yards. And a neck injury derailed his sophomore year before it ever began.
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To be fair though, Anderson wasn’t likely going to get much in the way of touches anyway, given that he was buried on the depth chart behind Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon.
With Perine and Mixon both gone to the NFL – and most importantly, finally healthy – Anderson finally got the chance to showcase his skills. And he had a solid coming out party for Oklahoma in 2017.
Anderson rushed for 1,161 yards on 188 carries – a healthy average of 6.2 yards per carry. He also found the endzone 13 times for the Sooners. He added 281 more yards and another five touchdowns on 17 receptions.
Scouts are impressed with Anderson’s first step quicks, a solid burst to carry him through the second level of the defense, underrated speed, athleticism, and his aggressiveness to run downhill and through contact, but also has the elusiveness to make tacklers miss in the open field.
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His combination of size (six-foot-one, 219 lbs.), speed, athleticism, route running, ability to catch out of the backfield, and well-rounded game has drawn comparisons to Arian Foster and DeMarco Murray.
He’s a back who can do it all, and could very well thrive in an offense like Gruden’s. He’s somebody the Raiders brass should keep an eye on this season and think about snapping up if he’s available.